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Given by Ashlynn Monroe

In a world without
choices, one woman will find herself caught in the middle of six men and the
emotions they develop for her.

Krista Damiani is one of the last women on Earth, and her patriotic duty is to
make babies. On her twenty-first birthday, the government holds a lottery
drawing to determine the men who will control her destiny. Her “six”, the men
who win the right to call her their own, know they have to impregnate her
quickly or risk losing her to a new “six”.

As society fills with
additional violence and unrest, her men keep her sheltered in a fortress of
maximum security. When a mysterious man arrives and offers her the chance for
freedom, will she be willing to leave the life she knows behind or will she
remain “given”?

"She's here." Jared's words came out in a whoosh of anticipation.
They watched the black SUV with tinted windows as it pulled up to the front of
the building. They stood in front of the grand capital tense, quiet—waiting.

A uniformed solider opened the front passenger side door and stood, surveying
the crowd. He opened the back door. Max sucked in a deep breath and the sound
broke the spell the other five men seemed to be under.

The crowd suddenly began shouting and the rabble of voices grew chaotic. The
six men turned to watch a tall, grubby-looking man sprinting across the green
grass of the capital lawn, running toward the SUV and their woman. A police
officer tackled the man and the two rolled onto the ground. More officers
swarmed the desperate man.

"I just want to touch her!" the wild-eyed man wailed as they cuffed
him.

* * * *

Krista stepped out, and the screaming men frightened her. She saw a police officer
tackle a man only a few yards away. She started to get back into the SUV, but
one of the soldiers grabbed her arm gently.

"It's time, miss."

"I'm afraid."

"We'll protect you. It'll be all right. It's always like this on Giving
Day. Don't worry. We will see you safely until you are under the guard of your
private security."

This was everything she'd feared, only worse. She hadn't expected the
protesters. Someone shouted the word "whore"; she knew the man's
hateful word meant her. How any of them could think she'd asked for this was
beyond her imagination.

Six young, well-dressed men stood in front of the steps of the large, white,
domed building. They were looking at her with…possessiveness. The moment she
saw them she knew that these men were her six, or more accurately, she was
theirs.

Everything had been sort of slow motion, but then as the crowd grew more
agitated, the soldiers quickly ushered her up the sidewalk. The governor didn't
come out for the official ceremonial signing of The Giving right, too many
threats to his life and ugly behavior had changed this day. As men who couldn't
qualify grew angrier with the government, The Giving ceremony became less pomp
and more circumstance; and the circumstance was, until they had the woman away
from the crowd, they were all in danger. A secretary rushed out and handed the
men the last of the paperwork to sign.

There wasn't a single introduction as the security, soldiers, and six young men
surrounded Krista and rushed her around the corner and into a waiting
limousine. They all hurried to get inside as the soldiers held back the men
running toward them. Even inside the car, Krista could hear the angry shouting.
The trunk slammed shut. Krista saw the driver slide into the front seat and the
engine roared to life.

****

They left her alone. She sat down on the bed and air whooshed from her lungs.
She shook a little due to nervous anticipation. Oh God, who should I pick?
Choosing felt so very wrong to her. She may belong to these men for a long
time, and the idea of alienating any of them, or getting off on a bad start,
twisted her stomach in knots of nervous anxiety. She stood up and unpacked her
few belongings. The closet looked so empty after she'd put her scant
possessions into it. She began walking down the stairs and she heard their
voices. Krista paused to listen, feeling a bit evil for eavesdropping.

"It's only right that she pick."

"We've all waited so long, shouldn't we draw straws or something?"

"For God's sake, she's a human being, not a new toy. Let the girl have her
pick. We'll all have a chance."

"What if we all share her tonight? Then it's fair to all of us."

"It wouldn't be fair to Krista. If she was your new bride, would you want
to pass her around to five other guys?"

"There's no more marriage, so the question isn't valid. The world isn't
nice and romantic. The fact is, she'll have to sleep with all of us."

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About Me

London Saint James has lived in many places, but never felt “at home” until she met the real-life man of her dreams and settled down in the beautiful Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. London lives with her husband and their fat cat who thinks he owns them.

As an award-winning, international bestselling author, London is living her childhood dream. She knew all the scribbling she did, that big imagination of hers, and all those clamoring characters running around in her head would pay off someday.